Demigod Trials 1
CHAPTER ONE He began his new life, pressed to the floor, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air. Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder and he fell backwards, slamming his head into the side of whatever he was trapped in. His back struck metal wall; he slid along it until he hit the corner of the room. He rubbed his head, and pulled his legs tight towards his body; praying to the gods that his eyes would soon adjust to the darkness. With another quick jolt, the room jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft, creaking and rattling. Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny whine. He felt disoriented, almost felt like crying as he sat alone in the dark, being transported to some unknown place. My name is Percy. I am the son of a god. After that, he knew nothing else. He didn't know what he looked like, which god was his father or how old he was. Not even his favorite food came to mind. It was as if his memories had decided they were done with his mess of a brain and picked themselves up and walked away. And the most important thing- he didn't know why he was in this square room that was slowly ascending. He didn't understand how he couldn't remember anything else. His mind functioned quickly, trying to take in his predicament. He remembered basic things, things anyone would know about. He pictured the beach, water crashing on sifting sand, the roar of the tide. He remembered eating a steak, the sun when it sank, and people rushing about a large city going to their daily jobs. And yet he didn't know where he came from, or how he'd gotten inside the dark lift, or who his parents were exactly. He didn't even know his last name. Images of people flashed across his mind, but there was no recognition, their faces replaced with haunted smears of color, like they'd been blotted out. He couldn't recall one person he knew or his last conversation. The room continued to climb upwards, on the screeching chains that rattled as they pulled him up. A long time passed. Minutes stretched into hours, although it was impossible to know for sure because every second seemed an eternity. No, that couldn't be right. He'd only been moving for so long...roughly half an hour if his sense of time was still intact. Strangely enough, he felt his fear being washed away, as if the sea's currents had come and swept it along, leaving him with only an intense curiosity. He wanted to know where he was and what was happening. Percy opened his hand, realizing that it was clutched tightly around something small and smooth. It was thin, like a stick and as he felt it, he realized it was a pen. Riptide. The name came to him almost instantly, and he knew it must be important. He also remembered that if he uncapped it it would expand into a pen. How could he have known that? With a loud groan and an odd clonk, the rising room came to a sudden halt; jarring Percy from his position and threw him across the cold floor. As he scrambled to get to his feet, he felt the room sway less and less until it finally stilled. Everything fell silent. A minute passed. Then two minutes. He looked this way and that, felt along the walls with his fingerness, searching for a way out. Nothing. He slammed his fist into the wall in frustration and the sound of his hand impacting the wall sent a strange echo throughout the room. He yelled in anger and found Riptide. With a burst of energy he uncapped the pen and it grew into a long celestial bronze sword, casting its eerily light on his surroundings. Metal walls. He leaned backwards into the wall, folding his arms and waiting once more. It killed him that he would have to wait for someone to rescue him, he could be slashing right now, but somehow he didn't think it would do any good. His ADHD brain told him to scream and run wild, but he calmed himself down and glared into the darkness. A loud clank rang out above him and he glanced up, preparing to attack. A straight line of light appeared across the ceiling of the room, and Percy watched as it expanded. A heavy grating sounds revealed double sliding doors being forced open. After spending all that time in the dark, the harsh light stabbed at his eyes but he did nothing to cover them. He kept his arms folded, with Riptide in one hand, waiting to see if his rescuers with enemies or friends. He heard noises above-voices-whispering. "Look at that shank." "How old is he?" "Looks like a wanna-be-Zeus in a T-Shirt." "You're the wanna-be-Zeus, shuck-face." "Dude, it smells like feet down there!" "Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Probatio." "There ain't no way back, man." Percy was hit with a wave of confusion, it was all he could do not to panic. Keep a lid on it. He scolded himself. The voices were odd, tinged with echo; some of the words were completely foreign-others felt familiar, like he should know them. He willed his eyes to adjust as he squinted toward the light and those speaking. At first he could only see shifting shadows, but they slowly began to form into the shapes of bodies-people hunched over the edge of the ceiling, looking down at him and talking. And then, with a start Percy realized they were all boys, all of them- some young, some older. Percy didn't know what he'd expected, but seeing those faces puzzled him, making him become more confused. They were just teenagers. Kids. Some of his fear melted away, but not enough to calm his racing heart. Someone lowered a rope from above, the end of it tied into a big loop. Percy hesitated for a moment, then made a split second decision. He grasped the rope tightly and clutched it with all his might, afraid he might drop it and land back in his prison. Hands reached down, lots od hands, grabbing him by the arms and by his clothes, pulling him up towards the light. The world seemed to spin, a swirling mist of faces and color. He blinked, trying to concentrate. The chorus of the boys voices went silent as they yanked Percy over the top of the sharp edge of the box. Percy knew he would never forget the words that came next. "Nice to meet ya shank," the boy smirked. "Welcome to the Glade." <--- Previous Chapter [[Demigod Trials 2| Next Chapter --->]] Category:TheBestDaysofUrLife Category:Fanfiction Category:The Demigod Trials Category:Crossovers